Kincardine Theatre Guild Code of Conduct
The Kincardine Theatre Guild strives to be a brave place where people of all races, gender expressions, ages, economic status and abilities are able to share their love of theatre together free from harassment, discrimination and bullying.
We are Kincardine’s Community Theatre and, as such, we strive to engage all members of our community, while understanding that our lived experiences are not all the same.
We are an active ally for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC), as well as 2SLGBTQ+ peoples. We demonstrate this allyship through our programming, casting and workshop opportunities as well as through our behaviour of how we interact with people both inside the theatre and out.
We recognize that KTG operates on land which belonged to the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, including the Chippewas of Saugeen and the Chippewas of Nawash, before settlers arrived here. We conduct a land acknowledgement before all performances, board meetings and general members’ meetings. We are committed to continue to learn more about the peoples who inhabited this land first and continue to inhabit this land.
We believe in equity and inclusion. As individuals and a collective, we actively stand against racism, classism, ageism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and any other form of hate or discrimination. We will not tolerate these behaviours from our members or our patrons.
The Kincardine Theatre Guild believes strongly in operating an organization free from discrimination and harassment, aligned to the values above. We demonstrate our commitment to these values by:
- Demonstrating these values in our behaviour in and out of the theatre;
- Providing a fair complaints process for violations of the theatre’s Code of Conduct;
- Annually revisiting this Code of Conduct to consider updates to it.
The Kincardine Theatre Guild’s Code of Conduct strictly prohibits bullying, harassment and discrimintion based on:
- Race
- Religion
- Gender
- Gender expression
- Gender identity
- Sexual Orientation
- Age
- Ability
- Economic Status
- Size
- Any other grounds
This Code of Conduct applies to all volunteers, members of the Board of Directors, members of the public who rent the theatre, and our patrons.
Members of the Board of Directors, as well as producers and directors of shows have the added responsibility of acting on any behaviour that contravenes this Code as soon as it becomes known to them.
Volunteers, audience members and others are invited to hold others accountable for behaviours that contravene this Code as long as you are comfortable doing so. If you are not, please follow the reporting procedure outlined below.
To report a complaint or violation of this Code of Conduct, you are invited to speak to the director or producer of the show, if you are comfortable doing so. If you are not, you are invited to email the Board of Directors at board@kincardinetheatreguild.com.
If you email your report, a Board member shall contact you within 24 hours to discuss next steps. If you speak to your director or producer, they shall let you know of the next steps, and that the Board may be notified about the report. The more information you are able to provide as part of your report (e.g., dates, times, what was said or done, if there were any witnesses), will help in the investigation. Complaints will be kept anonymous unless the complainant chooses to have his/her/their identity known.
A committee from the Board (and possibly including the director or producer of the production) shall be struck to investigate the report. The investigation shall include interviewing the complainant, the alleged offender(s) and any witnesses to the behaviours. The investigation shall be completed within 14 days.
Once the investigation is complete, the investigation committee shall make a recommendation in a written report on next steps to the Board of Directors for ratification. The Board of Directors shall vote on the recommendation in a Closed Session. These reports will be kept confidential.
Violations of the Code of Conduct may result in disciplinary action, including, but not limited to:
- Suspension from rehearsals of current production
- Removal from current production
- Suspension from future productions
- Removal of membership (or patronship).
The complainant, offender, and any other witnesses shall be informed of the Board’s decision after the vote for ratification by a member of the Executive of the Board of Directors within 24 hours after the vote. We will treat each report with respect and take it seriously, providing care to the person(s) who felt harm to the best of our abilities.